


Baby Steps

by shivershy



Category: Zootopia (2016)
Genre: Discrimination, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Interspecies Relationship(s), Judy loves him anyway, Look at how cute these cuties are!, Nick and Judy destroy all the stereotypes, Nick's kinda an idiot, Protective Nick, Protective(ish) Judy, angry nick, anniversary fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-08
Updated: 2016-04-08
Packaged: 2018-05-31 22:53:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6490552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shivershy/pseuds/shivershy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <em> Interspecies relationships were always frowned upon, Judy knew that. </em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	Baby Steps

**Author's Note:**

> So. First fanfic in a while; I just kinda lost touch with all my (many) fandoms, what with my life actually trying to become invested in something other than fangirling (real life is _terrible_ guys, I do not recommend), and then I saw Zootopia and bam! Inspiration. And thus, this fic was born. Hope y'all like it. Possible trigger warning for discrimination? I dunno, it's interspecies discrimination and I'm not aware of anyone on this lovely blue planet of ours in an interspecies relationship, but. Still. Well, enjoy!
> 
> PS: Kudos to whoever gets the Suzanne Vega and Sherlock references :)

Interspecies relationships were always frowned upon, Judy knew that. One of her uncles had upped and married a gazelle and she’d seen firsthand the discrimination the couple had gone through. They’d eventually moved away from Bunnyburrow to live in Zootopia, where Uncle Gary had claimed they’d face less discrimination. The pair had found some acceptance among the bunny community, but things had still been extremely hard and Auntie Reema had been prone to depression; the hostilities she faced every time she went out grocery shopping hadn’t helped that much.  
  
Still, though. Judy had thought that in Zootopia at least, she and Nick get a little more….acceptance, if not welcome.  
  
“I’m sorry, sir, but we do not serve interspecies couples, particularly those of,” here, the host’s floppy lips lifted into a sneer, “the predator-prey variety.”  
  
Judy couldn’t stop the tiniest wince as Nick’s arms crossed, causing the silky material of his dress shirt to tighten over the muscles of his chest. He only ever did that when he was angrier than a nestful of displaced hornets.  
  
On the plus side, it did emphasize those rather delicious muscles-  
  
Focus, Judy.  
“And why’s that?” Judy asked, stepping out from behind Nick and looping her arm through his, half to let him know he wasn’t alone in this and half to hold him back if it came to that. Where he would have generally deflected and evaded, when it came to people judging their relationship, Nick could become downright rude, and occasionally feral.  
  
The cow sniffed, tail flicking back and forth with what could be either irritation or anxiety. Even though the host was twice Nick’s size, some prey were still inherently nervous in the presence of angry predators; devolution, she’d heard it called. “The other customers will complain. It’s indecent. And unnatural.”  
  
Nick’s eyes flashed. “Our relationship is _unnatural_? That we love each other--that’s _unnatural_?”  
  
The host was practically cowering against his podium now, the pure white linen cloth draped over his arm quivering as he shivered fearfully.  
  
Judy glanced around the resteraunt; animals were beginning to notice the incident. A tiger couple in a corner table were half-standing, looking ready to intervene. A hare couple and their small leveret were practically shrinking into their chairs; the mother had leveret pressed against her chest, hiding his face and muffling his whimpers of, “Mommy, I’m scared! Is that fox gonna come eat us too?”  
  
She could feel her shoulders slump. Over a year since the Night Howler case, and predator-prey relations were still a problem, still something that had to be _worked on_.  
  
Feeling incredibly tired, as exhausted as if she’d just pulled an all-nighter, Judy reached forward and grabbed the cuff of Nick’s new dinner jacket, tugging lightly.  
  
He jerked around to stare at her, tension immediately seeping out of his body as his other paw came up to cup her cheek. “What is it, Carrots?”  
  
“Can we just go?” She didn’t bother trying to soften her voice to a whisper, though it wasn’t particularly loud to begin with. She’s just….so sick of people believing Nick had conned or threatened her into a relationship; had conned or threatened his way onto the force; will con or threaten anyone anywhere, simply because he’s a fox. She’s done her best to spread awareness about _stereotypes_ , but….not tonight.  
  
Not on their anniversary.  
  
Nick must have recognized something in her eyes, because the pinched fuzz around his eyes smoothed, his furry brows sliding away from each other as he did his best to turn that hard frown into something gentle. “Of course, sweetheart.” He turned back to the host, slipping his hand out of Judy’s loose grasp and winding it around her slim waist, drawing her as close to him as is publicly acceptable. His face was that same mask, the one she first saw him in. It was that mask that made her follow him across the street and into that ice cream parlour. She hated all his masks, but this is the one she hated the most. “It looks like we’ll be cancelling our reservations anyway. Sorry for any _inconvenience or indecency_.”  
  
He turned them around with one arm still around Judy’s waist, guiding her out the door.  
  
As soon as they were out on the curb, as far away from the building as they could be and still get a cab, Nick let out a half-angry, half-frustrated growl, slamming his foot into one of the large elephant garbage cans. The vibrations reverberated through the metal, echoing down the alleyway. “I am so _sick_ of this!”  
  
Judy wrapped her arms around herself, shivering in the light drizzle that dribbled lazily from the clouds; she’d worn Nick’s favorite purple dress, the sleeveless one with the slit up the thigh. It was gorgeous, shimmery and sparkly and showing _just_ the right amount of cleavage, and it drove Nick _insane_ , but it didn’t have much to speak of in the way of….cover. “So you’re sick of….us?”  
  
“No!” He turned, eyes burning with a vehemence that purged his anger. “No, of course not! Jude, that’s ridiculous! Oh, look, you’re freezing,” he lunged forward, fumbling with his suit coat as he wrapped it around her shoulders. He guided her to the curb, plopping down on the soggy cement and pulling her onto his lap (“so your dress doesn’t get dirty”, he said with an innocent grin in response to her glare).  
  
They sat there for a moment, wrapped up in each other's warmth and the lingering pain as the bittersweet rainwater swirled around the drain by Nick’s toes.  
  
“I’m so sorry, Carrots,” the fox finally murmured into the damp fur of her neck. “I mess everything up, don’t I?”  
  
She hated the way his voice sounded small, broken, _lost_ , even more than she hated those masks of his. “It has absolutely nothing to do with you, Nicholas Wilde.”  
  
He sighed, burying his muzzle even further into her neck, letting her scent overwhelm him. “I just want them to accept us. Is it too much to ask, to take your girlfriend out to a fancy restaurant on your anniversary?”  
  
“Oh, Nick,” Judy crooned, shifting on his lap to wrap both her suit-coat drowned arms around his neck in a hug. “They will eventually. It’s not always going to be like this. We just have to take baby steps. We’re police officers; we can change the world! It’s just going to take a while to get there, but we _will_ get there!”  
  
“My optimistic little bunny,” he mumbled.  
  
“My impulsive fox,” she quipped back, a tiny grin tugging up her lips, “Does your foot hurt?”  
  
“Yes.” His voice was absolutely sullen and totally devoid of emotion. For some reason, this made it even funnier.  
  
It wasn’t too much longer before the lights of a cab cut through the streams of rain, and by a stroke of luck, Nick was able to flag it down with minimal effort.  
  
“Where to, buddy?” asked the irate-looking bison squished behind the wheel.  
  
Nick glanced down to Judy, who was still curled up comfortably in his lap. “Home?”  
  
Judy’s head cocked ever-so slightly to the left, her ears perking a bit as her eyes sparked back up. “No. We’re not going to let that stupid cow ruin our evening.” She turned to the driver, her people-smile revealing those two adorable buckteeth. “Can you take us to the diner down on seventh?”  
  
The bison gave a long-suffering sigh, flicking his blinker as he waiting for a line of shrew cars to pass. “Sure, lady. That’ll be ten-fifty. You got that?”  
  
She smiled brightly. “Of course!”  
  
“Carrots,” Nick hissed as she slid off his lap (barely), straightening his jacket on her shoulders, “what are you doing?”  
  
“I’m not letting that cow ruin our night, that’s what I’m doing, ah, thanks so much!” She slipped out her clutch, handing ten zollars and fifty zents to the bison before hopping out of the cab.  
  
“What?” Nick blinked. Whiplash much?  
  
The bison stared apathetically at Nick in the rearview mirror, letting out another baleful sigh. “Look, buddy, you’ve either gotta get out with the lady or tell me where you wanna go. My shift’s over in like five minutes.”  
  
“Right.” Nick slid out after her, straightening his tie as he watched the cab pull away. “So just what’s going on, Carrots?”  
  
She grinned, snagging his hand and leading him up the ramp to ‘Tom’s Diner’. At the sight of the wonky neon sign flashing above the metal trailer, Nick couldn’t stop his own grin. The diner was a favorite among cops, and just so happened to be Nick and Judy’s favorite place to eat for a different reason; their first date had been at Tom’s (and the diner was also part of Mr. Big’s underground pie ring, but the two cops were willing to let that slide; they were, after all, excellent pies).  
  
“Hey, look who it is!” bellowed Tom from his place behind the griddle, grinning at the couple. “Well, don’t you two look all fancy. What’s the occasion?”  
  
Once again, Nick wound his arm around Judy’s waist, tucking her into his side. “It’s our anniversary and our reservations….fell through.”  
  
Judy’s smile, though a bit forced, was soft and sweet. “So we decided to come here. More romantic anyway, right Nick?” Her big purple eyes gazed up at the fox, so wide and innocent.  
  
His own grin softened as he stared down at the little bundle in his arms; how did he get so lucky? “Yeah.”  
  
“Well, in that case, let me get ya a candle. Ya know, for the table. More romantic. Have yerselves a seat. The usuals, right?”  
  
“Sure, Tom,” Judy shook as the beaver waddled into the back room and wriggled herself into a booth. “He’s so…."  
  
“Ridiculous?” Nick suggested, taking the seat across from her.  
  
“Sweet.” She finished as a half-melted vanilla-scented candle was placed between them, giving her boyfriend a warning glare as his cheeks ballooned with unspent laughter. “Thanks, Tom.”  
  
“Anything for my two favorite customers!” he tittered as he slid two cups of coffee onto the table as well, slapping his tail against the floor before moving his way back behind the bar to get their meals started.  
  
“Sorry about tonight,” Nick apologized again, fiddling with a packet of cheap sweetener.  
  
“What are you sorry about?”  
  
“The reservations. The restaurant. The...cow-host.”  
  
“Nick.” Judy leaned over the table, slipping her paw into his. “You had absolutely no control over those things. You can’t keep the host from being a jerk or for the restaurant from having a ban on interspecies couples.”  
  
“But-”  
  
She stopped him with a squeeze to his paw so hard that he gave a little yelp. “Baby steps, remember? Baby steps. Beside, I prefer Tom’s carrot cake anyway.” Her head tipped to the side once more, deeper this time. “Why do you care so much about that fancy restaurant?”  
  
Nick took a deep breath. “Because that would have made it so much easier to do this.” He slid out of the booth and onto one knee, feeling around in his pockets.  
  
Judy gasped, paws cupping her cheeks as a delighted surprise filled her eyes. “Nick-wha?”  
  
“I think the ring’s in my suit jacket pocket,” the fox admitted sheepishly. “But would you marry me, Judy Hopps?”  
  
“Of course!!” she squealed, and suddenly Nick found himself with an armful of fluffy bunny, furry kisses being pressed to his cheeks, his nose, his forehead, his mouth. “A thousand times yes!!”  
  
“Well,” he murmured around a mouthful of bunny, “maybe I should propose more often.”  
  
She laughed wetly, pulled away with mysteriously misty eyes. “Silly fox.”  
  
He reached up to brush his paw against her (wet) cheek. “Beautiful bunny.”  
  
“Finally!” came the voice from the griddle.


End file.
